Fields of Plenty
Published Nov 19, 2008
Even as housing developments, office parks and manufacturing facilities spring up throughout the Metro North region, agribusiness still holds a place of pride in the area’s economy.
In fact, the family farm is very much alive and well in and around Brighton, home of 3,200-acre Sakata Farms. Owners Bob and Joanna Sakata have been honored by the state of Colorado for their contributions to the agricultural economy, as the second of three generations to farm their land.
Sakata Farms produces sweet corn, onions and other crops, and with its produce sold everywhere from Wal-Marts nationwide to local grocers, Sakata says the demand is there — but so are the ongoing difficulties of trying to keep fertile farmland going in an increasingly populated area.
“With all the people coming in, and all the new rules and regulations, water is getting to be beyond our control,” Sakata says. “That’s a big challenge for us right now.”
That said, he points to strong local support for growers as one measure of how agriculture is valued in the local economy and why he thinks there will continue to be working farms in the area for the foreseeable future.
“All of the major chain stores in the Denver metro area support local growers, and it’s been that way for many years,” he says. “And now because of the cost of shipping product in from the West Coast, they’re concentrating on locally grown products even more, which is good for the farmers, the stores and the consumers.”
Government’s Helpful Role
Keeping the farms going while ensuring undeveloped land’s availability for business and residential growth is one of many balancing acts for local governments, but it’s one that’s key to the area’s ongoing economic good fortune, says Brighton Mayor Jan Pawlowski.
“The family farms that are still here have had to jump in and be a part of the corporate world, and part of that is dealing with a population that’s more than doubled in 1996,” Pawlowski says of Brighton. “We definitely take them into consideration when we’re looking at things like annexation, because they’re still standing on their own – and we want that to continue.”
It’s a matter of simple need as much as it is good business, she adds.
“We’ve got to eat, and we’ve got to figure out where to grow our food,” Pawlowski says. “We’ve got the best peaches-and-cream corn anywhere, and I know nobody wants to see that disappear. We have to find the balance.”
Corn lovers will be glad to know that, at least for now, one farmer will still have it growing as high as an elephant’s eye.
“As long as I am able to function I certainly intend to keep going,” Sakata says. “The mayor, the people around here, understand what agriculture contributes to the area. We don’t just contribute economically, but we also furnish free open space, and with plants that convert car exhaust to oxygen, we contribute to the environment.”
Story by Joe Morris
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